Another drawing video went up this week with this drawing of the Third Doctor from the long running BBC series, Doctor Who. This iteration of the title character was portrayed by Jon Pertwee from 1970-1974. His tenure was marked by a lot changes to the show.
First, it was the first time the show was aired in color, having spent the previous six seasons in black and white. Second, the premise was blemished a bit when the producers stranded The Doctor on Earth, incapacitating his ship that allows for travel through both space and time. What this created was a very different show, but one that pushed the show out of staid formula and tropes created and repeated over the previous six years and two lead actors.
He’s one of my favorite Doctors if only because Pertwee clearly was having a lot of fun being a time-traveling alien who, for these four years at least, also got to be James Bond.
What makes drawing so difficult is that it’s meant to create a sense of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional plane. This is obviously easiest to do with photography or film, but drawing/art is the oldest way people have been making this happen and, even as someone who is marginally good at it, it is hard to do.
A paper’s illusory space breeds fantasy; while photography or film (without any post-processing) merely captures what is in front of the lens and is, thus, bound by the laws of physics in many ways, artists visualize things that can’t exist through their hands alone––just pencil on paper.
Making the impossible believable is part of the power of art for both the audience and the artist. The Colossus by Francisco de Goya. Source: Museo del Prado
This fluid reality of an artist’s canvas fostered the creation of superheroes, people who are able to fly free from accoutrements or can fire lasers from their pupils or who can turn into beasts at will or can blast the power of the sun from their hands without being harmed.
Superpowers are impossible, but art can let us see them. Art realizes the unreal. More than that, artists can make these powers believable, even if not much attention is given to pseudo-scientific explanations or biological diagrams. We can see the hair blown back by Superman’s speed or the debris fly and crack from the Hulk’s fists impacting the ground. Artists play in this fantasy because it’s fun, but it’s also a challenge.
Again, drawing is hard. But you can learn so much by attempting to visualize the impossible, make it believable, and imbue it––solely through lines on paper––with a life that doesn’t exist.
Drawing this X-Men character, Kitty Pryde in her “Shadowcat” uniform, was a unique challenge because her powers directly interact with the liminal space between 2D and 3D. For her powers to be convincing, the artist must be able to sell the idea that you’re looking at a person exactly because the viewer is staring at a flat piece of paper.
Kitty’s power is called “phasing,” which means she can walk through walls, basically. Again, it’s a nonsense power, but when you think of comics as drawings, you can easily imagine how she was created––driven by the challenge and fun of drawing a person walking halfway through a solid wall. This is because, just like drawing in general, it makes the artist ask questions––in this case, they have to ask a lot of questions. How far forward are here hands from her elbows? Her knee from her torso? How far is she twisting her body in this jogging pose? How far back is her hair from her shoulders? All of these questions are framed against the question that makes it extra hard: where (on this flat piece of paper) is the wall?
Superheroes––and their powers––allow artists to make the impossible believable. Art: Alan Davis (pencils), Paul Neary (inks), Glynis Oliver (colors). Source: Excalibur #2 (1988), Marvel Comics
It’s a fun challenge because the results are rewarding. Even if something is off or a bit weird, it was fun to solve problems and, in the end, creating something that looks like a magic trick.
The original sketch for this drawing was done for friend-of-the-comic, Tony Asaro. I was so pleased with the final product that I wanted to take it to color, which ended up being a lot of fun to use as practice.
This September marks my thirteenth year making comics.
I started in 2007 with the humor-espionage comic, Eben07, which was co-written with Eben Burgoon. Its six-year run is best summarized as a serialized learning curve. It was a lot of fun but, by the end of its run, both Eben and I were yearning to take what skills we had honed into new projects. If you want to check out a bit of Eben07, I have a free digital collection of the five-issue final storyline of the series, “Operation: 3-Ring Bound,” available for free at the online shop.
Obviously, after Eben07 ended in 2013, I dove into production of Long John while Eben created another action-comedy series called B-Squad. Over the years on this title, he collaborated with a range of artists, bringing them into his world of hyperactive, cultural humor, which garnered a lot of attention, press, and fans.
A page from the first issue of Tiny Wizards. Words: Eben Burgoon, Art: Dean Beattie. Source: Eben E. B. Burgoon
With that book gaining a home at Starburns Industries Press, Eben began expanding his horizons further with his new book, Tiny Wizards, created with the amazing artist, Dean Beattie.
They ran a successful Kickstarter in March to fund the first issue, a series pitched as: “pint-sized wizards vie for control of fast-food restaurants in a freeway town in California.”
If the preview art indicates anything––and based on knowing Eben for over twenty years at this point––it’s going to be a wild and wacky book.
D. Bethel worked with Eben Burgoon on their first comic series, Eben07, that ran online from 2007-2013.
I did this pinup as a thanks to Eben for pre-ordering Volume 4 (and as an appreciation for his continued support of Long John throughout its lifespan), and was pleased that he got a kick out of it. I have even heard that the drawing will be inked and colored (by another amazing artist, John Cottrell, artist of an exclusive pinup found in Volume 4!) for inclusion in the debut issue of Tiny Wizards!
It’s quite an honor to be included in one of Eben’s new projects, and I’m glad he found the sketch a worthy addition. I can’t wait to check out the book when it’s in hand!
